


dreams of gospel

by dwyndling



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Dreams, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, Kingdom Hearts χ Spoilers, Mutual Pining, Rare Pairings, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, aerinvi, invi is....Big Gay, kingdom hearts needs more milfs but that's neither here nor there, should I tag slow burn for a three chapter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwyndling/pseuds/dwyndling
Summary: And if I'm blinded, will my eyes become the planets?Will I float or will I drown?This voice, is it calling for the world to pull me down?
Relationships: Aerith & Invi, Aerith Gainsborough & Foreteller Invi, Aerith Gainsborough/Invi (Kingdom Hearts), Aerith/Invi
Kudos: 5





	dreams of gospel

**Author's Note:**

> Look. Look. If Mickard Mousathy can be in Union Cross-
> 
> welcome to rarepair hell. I wrote this fic for me and you get to experience it by my greater sense of goodwill and also the off chance anyone has thought of this pairing and fallen instantly in love, as I did. Bring your own food to the goddam buffet.

Night always falls on Daybreak Town with a gentle shifting of color, the dusk turning the sky grey and docile. When the sun is gone completely, the sky is vast and empty, no stars in the blackened sky above. 

Invi objectively knows what stars are. They are enormous beings of light that exist somewhere unknowable in the vastness above. One day, or in a day that has already passed, they will twinkle brightly, like far away dancers clad in sparkling silver, whirling and leaping round the river of night. 

But for now, the skies above Daybreak Town are still empty, formless and blank. They have always been that way, ever since she’d first come to this town.

So much is unchanged, since that fateful time. The years have passed in peace, or as much peace as one could find with the kind of teacher her master is. The warm color of the cobblestones is still the same, and the purple shingles that cover the roofs in town are the same familiar shade of violet. Even the ivy that curls around lamp posts and buildings is the same kind of green. 

The water in the fountain shimmers grey under the night sky as Invi strolls past it. It fits the quiet of this night, the waning light and contemplative breeze around her like a cloak of solitude. 

The wielders are mostly home at this hour, eating a late supper or taking an early night. A few can be seen going to and fro in the streets, returning late from the worlds with their Lux in tow, faces weary and sights on home. They pay her no mind, partly in thanks to the shimmering cloak spell that wreaths around her. 

She can afford to meander, like this. Her tasks for the day are done, even if more await tomorrow. It is one of the few moments of peace she is afforded, these slow and aimless walks through the empty streets of her home. 

Some might call it lonely, that she delights in the isolation of it all. But Invi has always been reserved, a proponent of keeping her thoughts to herself where they belonged. It is relaxing to be alone with her own thoughts, a moment's respite from leadership, from work, from her fellow apprentices, no matter how well intentioned they might be. 

She is truly herself when she is truly alone. No walls to hide behind, no forced congeniality and diplomacy for the sake of the group. Just her, and the gentle whisper of the wind.

As of now, the sky is pale violet, and fading fast. The streetlamps begin to flicker to life, the magic that controls them as punctual as ever. They cast a warm glow over the cobblestones and sides of houses, sending the shadows between into stark relief.

_ Twilight...the dimness of the in-between time. _

The streets have completely emptied by now, as they should have. Invi continues her stroll, not letting the cloak drop. Despite the fact there is no one to cross paths with her on the road, it’s preferable to keep away from peering eyes in windows. It’s simply taking precautions, against the chaos known as chance.

Better that no one knows these habits of hers. Better that this proclivity does not become a targetable weakness.

Invi’s feet come to a halt where the road ends, branching in two directions opposite of each other. Before her stretches the park, an expanse of greenery suited for nature walks and picnics with friends. It’s empty now, filled only with the wind and the sound of nightingales. 

Or...it should be empty. 

The master squints, deeper into the twilight gloom. There’s a figure seated on the bench by the path, normally a prime spot for watching the sunrise over the ocean. 

One of the wielders? Invi steps closer, taking care to be soundless. No one from her union, as she knows all their faces by heart. Not from Ava’s either, nor from Ira’s. 

In fact… She slows to halt, brows furrowing together behind the mask. She’s certain she’s never seen this person at all before.

They’re clad in dusty rose, a pale pink ribbon tying up a long brown braid. The face is contented, staring up at the sky in quiet rapture. A lone flower rests in the figure’s hand, a snow-white lily that must have come from the flower patch not far away.

Should she...tell them to hurry home? That seems redundant, if they’re not a wielder under her guidance. But if they’re not one of the children….who are they? Daybreak Town does not receive wandering travelers. That’s simply the way of the world, as it is now. There is this and only this; Invi cannot recall ever hearing of, much less traveling to a civilization beyond this town’s limits. 

Perhaps...something this odd could only be a part of the Master’s business. In which case, it would behoove her greatly not to interfere. 

She lingers a moment more either way. There’s something about the sight of the picture, the way the figure’s chin is tilted up to look at the watercolors in the sky, that holds her gaze.

And then Invi turns away, allowing her feet to crest over the cobblestones silently back the direction that she came. Perhaps the matter will be brought to her attention in the morning, and she will finally gain a name with which to speak of the occurrence.

Something compels her to look over her shoulder, just to check once more that she hadn’t simply imagined the strange sight. It’s an instinctual call, something that sparks to life in her bones and refuses to be ignored.

Invi keeps her eyes forward, not allowing her pace to slow. She has not come this far by feeding any sense of hesitation. 

The happening refuses to leave her mind for the rest of the night, even as she attempts to sleep. 

* * *

As it would turn out, the morning heralds with it no announcement of a guest or of a visitor. Business continues as normal, the morning meeting between the five going as smoothly as could ever be expected. Afterwards, even as Invi attempts to subtly ply Ira with questions about anything out of routine, he simply looks at her in confusion and asks her if something happened. 

It seemed quite silly in the light of day, to tell him what had happened. Instead, she covers it up with a sigh that’s not completely ingenuine, and simply tells him that work has been wearing down her nerves lately. Ira nods sympathetical, a moment of communion shared between habitual workaholics and promptly prescribes her a day off. 

As much as she initially tries to protest, it can’t be denied that it’s probably a good idea. It’s with mingled resignation that Invi finds herself at the entrance to the town square with nothing to do, her paperwork promptly commandeered by their ever studious leader. 

_ I suppose there’s nothing for it. I’ll catch up on some work later tonight no matter what Ira says. _

_ But first… _

A nap sounds wonderful right about now. Her sleep of the night before had been troubled, plagued by dreams that slipped away the instant she jerked awake. All she was left with was a vague feeling of restlessness, an unnameable itch begging to be satiated.

As Invi strides forward, intent on heading back to her chambers in the lower reaches of the clocktower, the greetings and hurried salutations of the wielders greet her with every step. The children aren’t quite as familiar with her as they are with Ava, or even Gula, but some, especially members of her own union, greet her with unfettered pleasure. 

The square is bustling, parties meeting up for their morning excursions and solo wielders hurrying to and fro. The moogle’s shop has a good flow of traffic in and out, as the children fill their pouches and pockets with healing items and equipment. 

Invi gently brushes past a young girl attempting to count out a pile of silvery trait medals into her lap, and steps neatly around another one snapping a keychain into place. The hustle and bustle of the morning is not unpleasant, but a moment to collect her breath and her thoughts is far more attractive. 

But of course, the veneer of a master can never drop in public.

With a few last nods of acknowledgement and other sundry pleasantries, Invi finds herself safely at the other side of the square. Her steps speed up slightly, turning down a side road in quest of a shortcut. 

The outskirts of Daybreak Town are a primarily residential area, all restaurants, stores, and other amenities located towards the center of the town. The stone houses here are all much the same, very little distinguishing factors between the violet shingled roofs and grey stonework.

However, there is one building that is different from the rest. Invi’s stride slows to a stop as it catches her eye, coming to a halt in the center of the path. 

It’s not as if she doesn’t know that there’s a church in Daybreak Town. Built in worship of what, she has no idea, and it’s never seemed particularly important enough to ask. It’s a quiet place, where a little solace and healing may be found for those who need it, and it seemed as though more than that hardly needed to be said. 

She’s never been inside herself, as the need had never arisen. Despite that, she’s visited the graveyard attached to the building on a few separate occasions, and must have had a general tour of the premises at some point since coming here, but the building is alien to gaze at.

...well. That won’t do. As a master and a union leader, it simply will not do for her to ever be caught unawares. The layout of this building should be imprinted upon her mind, every loose board and creaky door known like the back of her hand. 

That is what it is to be a master, after all.

_ I’ll ask Ira for the floorplans later. For now, I investigate.  _

As she paces forward, it becomes clear that the door is not only unlocked, but left standing open, swaying slightly in the breeze. It’s not the sturdiest of doors to begin with, and one good kick or strike to the hinges would most likely shatter the surrounding wood. Invi commits it to memory, and moves on.

Her first step inside the building is cautious. Who can know what carries on in a quietly empty building?

The sight that greets her is enough to steal both her breath and her thoughts away.

Standing at the altar, just where the stained glass on the walls above allow the sunlight to dapple down to the ground in iridescent rainbows, there is a person. Their back is to Invi, but they seem to be staring upwards, to the picture the stained glass portrays. A chestnut braid falls down to their waist, secured with a pale pink ribbon. 

All that might be perfectly mundane, if it were not for the  _ light. _

As if the sun had chosen to worship the place where this person stands, the entire wall of the church is lit up in gold and shimmering rainbows. There is a sanctity in the room, a glowing and visceral sense of peace that surely must have been perverted by Invi’s presence. 

Her heart practically  _ reverberates _ with it.

Before she can stop herself, Invi finds her feet taking two nerveless steps forward, to where the backmost row of pews are stapled to the ground. Her hands clench around the old wood, knuckles white.

_ A star has fallen to earth. The sky is empty because the stars have fallen to earth and walk among us. _

The thought is objectively nonsense. In no world that Invi has ever heard of do stars look like people, and even if they did, for what reason would they ever walk among humans?

And then the figure turns, and if Invi’s breath had been already stolen away-

Soft jade eyes blink in surprise at her. The star’s head tilts to the side, and pink lips form an ‘o’ of surprise. 

“I’m sorry, should I not be in here?”

The statement achieves such a discordance with the rest of the image that Invi is left grasping for words. The voice is perfectly human, a sweet tone that conveys nothing but sincere apology.

“I...who are you?”

Perhaps it’s impudent to directly ask such a direct question to a figure that still radiates such intense...otherness. Perhaps she has mistakenly alighted upon the goddess that this church was built in worship of, and is about to offend them with her brashness. 

The star-goddess steps away from the light pouring over the altar, and hurries down the steps of the dais. “It’s my fault! I wandered in here and it was so pretty that I…” She huffs a helpless laugh. “I couldn’t help myself.”

On instinct, Invi adjusts her posture and nods formally. “I see. Well, worry not. This building is not prohibited to residents, but I’m afraid it doesn’t see many visitors.” She steps forward, steps encouraged by the fact the woman looks a little more human when she’s not bathed in the glowing colors. “What is your name?”

The young woman smiles, cheeks flushing slightly. “I’m Aerith. What’s yours?”

It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to ask, but it takes Invi an extra second to find her bearings. “You mean...you don’t...know?”

It’s unheard of, that someone should live in this town and be unaware of the five. The Foretellers are the wardens of this city and of its inhabitants; surely any normal resident- 

One of the woman’s, Aerith’s, eyebrows quirks upwards. “Should I?”

Thoughts cascade into each other, like a waterfall rushing around and around in a heedless spin. Invi tries not to gape like a fish. 

“You-no. I mean, no. Of course not.” 

_ Why did I say that? Who even is this woman? Is this...another one of the Master’s tests? _

Aerith’s face creases into yet another smile. “Then what is your name, person I have not met before?” 

“Invi.” The light reflects off of Aerith’s profile in a way that’s oddly hypnotic. It feels as though it would hurt to look away from it. “They call me Master Invi.”

“Invi…” She forgets to breathe, hearing the bell-like voice form the syllables of her name. “What a pretty name! I’ve never heard it before.” Aerith clasps her hands in front of her. “What are you a master of, Master Invi?”

“I’m…” Invi clears her throat, against the odd lump in the back of it that is neither fear nor pain. “I’m a Keyblade Master.”

If Aerith seemingly has never heard of the Foretellers, it would appear she is at least familiar with keyblades, judging from the way her eyebrows raise. “A real Keyblade Master?” She leans forward, as if to get a better look at Invi. “Incredible…”

There is the slight urge to lean away, to hope that the piercing emeralds trained on her cannot actually glean anything from the set of her shoulders or the tilt of her head. Invi simply nods. “Is it so strange?” Perhaps Aerith is a wielder after all...one from far away, with fewer masters and who knows what else.

But where would that even be?

Aerith shakes her head, an unreadable smile still playing over her lips. “I’ve met a few Keyblade Masters before, but none like you.”

“None like...me?” Now that raises even more questions than it answers. 

“Mm.” Aerith leans away again, eyes still bright with curiosity. “How strange...could it be?”

It doesn’t seem like the question is directed to Invi, and as such, she doesn’t answer. Who is this strange girl, who lights up the entire room with the look on her face and whose presence glows with a light strong enough to make Invi want to shield her inner eyes?

She can’t bring herself to ask again.

* * *

  
The encounter with Aerith stays firmly planted in her mind from that point forward.

It feels as though it...wouldn’t be  _ right  _ to bring it up to the others. She doesn’t even tell Ira, when he is normally her closest confidante.

Safe to say then, as Invi ponders the matter as she strides onto the street the next morning, it’s turned into her odd little secret.

After that initial meeting in the church yesterday, just as the young woman had turned to leave, she’d been possessed to ask when she could see her again. The feeling coursing through her was that of a nameless terror, a deep seated fear that somehow the encounter really was nothing more than a dream.

Aerith had turned back towards her, a gentle smile playing over her lips, and scribbled down the directions to her house on a piece of scrap paper.

“Come by around noon tomorrow,” she’d said, “we can have tea.”

Questions had dashed through Invi’s mind one after another, the forefront of which being there’s no  _ way _ that Aerith actually lived in this town and she’d somehow never seen her before. 

But..isn’t it her duty as a master to investigate something this out of the ordinary?

She’d agreed, almost instantly. It’s been awhile since anyone has invited her to tea.

The directions are written in a neat flowy script, in that same tongue and lettering native to Daybreak Town. Wherever Aerith is from, provided Invi hasn’t dreamed the whole thing up, it seems her origins are not entirely alien.

Turning down a side street, Invi finds herself in a particularly quiet part of the residential area. It’s nearing noon, so the main streets are bustling with wielders headed home, or out to eat in the town. But on this avenue, no one strides. It is perfectly abandoned, other than the piercing call of a white bird, sitting on a lamp post to her right.

Invi counts the doors meticulously, and as the count finishes, finds herself standing before a door of pale wood. It’s hardly any different than it’s neighbours, but the flowers seem to grow a bit more abundantly in this yard than they do any other. Flowering vines creep up the woodwork of the house, lending a sense of peculiar life to the building.

This is definitely the right house. 

She raises her hand to knock-

-and then freezes. 

This house must’ve been here before. There’s no way it couldn’t have been; it would’ve left a gaping hole amidst a row of mostly identical little houses. 

And then why is that she can’t shake the feeling this house wasn’t here yesterday?

...perhaps it’s simply as she’d told it to Ira. Her nerves are frayed from overworking, and she’s becoming paranoid in the face of stress. It is likely something so simple as that.

With this in mind, Invi raps lightly on the door with her knuckles, three times in quick succession.

Something sings, in the motion. Some tune humming through her veins, a nameless dance that resists any instinct to turn and leave.

You cannot see the stars during the daytime, regardless of whether stars exist or not. But when Aerith opens the door with a flourish, her smile bright as she greets Invi and ushers her inside, the sparkling nature of her eyes is unmistakable.

What else could that be, if not the stars in heaven?

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The lyrics in the summary are taken from Dance On The Moon by AURORA.


End file.
